Many of Chicago area’s essential workers are people of color and live in lower-income neighborhoods, new analysis says

A disproportionately high number of essential worker jobs in the Chicago area are held by people of color and those who live in lower-income neighborhoods, according to a new analysis by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

The analysis categorized essential workers by using 12 occupation categories released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The categories include employees who work in health care support, building and ground maintenance, transportation and construction.

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“This is our first pass at trying to take a look at a regional level at who our essential workers are,” said Simone Weil, principal for policy at the agency.

More than 54% of essential workers in the Chicago area are people of color, compared to 44% of all regional workers, the study found. Essential workers include those who work for the CTA, Pace and Metra. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

More than 54% of essential workers are people of color, compared with 44% of all workers in the region, the study found. Black workers are most overrepresented in health care support and protective services jobs, whereas Hispanic workers are overrepresented in both construction and food service industries, according to the analysis.

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Many essential workers live on the South and West sides of the city; in nearby south, southwest and west suburban Cook County; and in job centers in Lake, DuPage and Will counties, according to the analysis.

The analysis also found that 1 in 4 essential workers lives in a census tract that has a median household income at least 30% below the regional median of $70,500.

However, the estimates excluded workers in some industries that have become essential during the coronavirus pandemic. For example, grocery store employees are classified under a nonessential occupation role as retail sales workers.

Austen Edwards, a senior policy analyst at the agency, said the analysis speaks to new and long-running economic pressures that workers in these sectors are facing. In beginning to examine data, Chicago can better look at how to provide better equitable access to education, health care and government services, he said.

“It speaks to longer-term trends in employment that we continue to see play out today,” he said. “When we’re thinking of coronavirus and the shift to long-term recovery, we need to have a strong understanding of long-term trends and what opportunities are being presented to workers.”